Music of Restoration England: a Pepys Show

For its Fall 2018 Project (and beyond to the Spring), the New York Continuo Collective will be exploring songs and such from the English Restoration, from the perspective of the invasion of foreign musicians and their musical styles (French, Italian, German, Bohemian), and how these were integrated (or not) into the native English traditions. Guiding us, and providing, through his diary entries, an entertaining window into the cultural, political and musical life of the Restoration, will be the observations of Samuel Pepys, member of the government, and amateur musician and singer. This repertoire includes lots of string band and guitar work.

The Fall project will begin on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, culminating in a concert presentation on Tuesday, December 11, 2018. We will resume for the Spring Opera project (TBA, but probably something English) on Tuesday, January 15, 2019, with performances on May 13 & 14. Of course, this being a BEMF year, the opera project will go to the Boston Early Music Festival as a fringe event on Thursday, June 13.

Please let us know if you would like to take part this semester. There is a fee for participation, which covers payment of faculty and renting the space.

There is talk of including a separate evening for the string band and also for continuo sessions. Stay tuned for this and more!

And please pass this along to anyone to whom it might be of interest.

Thanks to all, Grant

The Collective meets on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 9:00 PM at St. Luke's Lutheran Church, 308 West 46th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues), 2nd Floor Lounge (buzz "18" on the intercom).

We will be setting the tuition, but assume that it will be around $500 for the semester. For more information about our scholarship policy, please refer to our Administrative FAQs

Special classes, master classes, dress rehearsals may occur at other times and places.